WiFi at The Ritz London | Case Study

Delivering exceptional Hospitality WiFi service to guests with Airangel

For over a century The Ritz London has been the benchmark by which other hotels are measured. It has been home to the great and the good, the intelligentsia, the glitterati and thousands of discerning guests since 1906 and is the byword for luxury, service and elegance.

RELIABLE HOSPITALITY WIFI A PRIORITY

Guest Internet access and Hospitality WiFi in particular, however, is no longer a luxury – it’s now considered a vital part of delivering the highest standard of service The Ritz is renowned for. So when Glenn and Richard Isted, IT managers at The Ritz, were tasked with reviewing their aging guest high speed Internet access facilities, fast, robust and
reliable WiFi access became a renewed priority.

“Our guest Internet connection really struggled  to deal with the nuances of a hotel that was built at the turn of the century,” Glenn explained. “We needed a system that could cope with walls up to twelve inches thick, that we could manage easily and that could guarantee fast and reliable guest access 24/7,”

Glenn was first introduced to Airangel while researching an alternative provider for the
Ritz’s public access gateway. Airangel initially surveyed the hotel and drew up detailed plans on how best to make use of the latest WiFi infrastructure technology.

FULL COVERAGE IN EVERY ROOM

Airangel’s Hospitality WiFi solution was specified, which included 180 Ruckus Wireless access points of various models in all 133 bedrooms and suites and throughout the hotel’s public areas. The highly decorative bedrooms and corridors of The Ritz presented particular challenges for conventional cabling.

 

“AIRANGEL ENABLES US TO
OFFER THE HIGHEST STANDARD
OF SERVICE, WHICH THE RITZ
IS RENOWNED FOR”

INVISIBLE INSTALLATION INSIDE OUT

Airangel overcame this by selecting the Ruckus ZF7025 wall-plate access point for all bedrooms, as it enabled an almost disruption-free, invisible installation on an “inside out” basis. As a result, the thickness of the walls is no longer an issue and the Hotel is now able to guarantee complete signal coverage in every room and suite.

The project was completed in just twelve weeks during which time 160 new cables and a 1Gb fibre leased line were installed providing speeds of up to 400 Mbps for all guests to share.

“OUR GUESTS EXPECT FREE,
FAST AND RELIABLE WIFI
AND WITH AIRANGEL
THAT’S WHAT THEY GET”

“Choosing the right partner, with relevant experience for your particular venue is vital to getting the best WiFi service,” explained Glenn. “The team at Airangel was honest, upfront and straightforward about what they would deliver and how much it would cost.”

BRANDED PORTAL

Airangel now provides The Ritz with a simple one page branded portal through which guests and visitors are able to access the Internet from their preferred device and platform using just their name and room number or a VIP/event code. Airangel’s Hospitality WiFi also allows key staff and event organisers to create and issue easily recognisable custom access codes in advance of events. This enables specific connection parameters and dates to be setup to suit the needs and usage patterns for each individual or group.

Airangel’s Hospitality WiFi solution allows Duty Managers to profile guests while they are online to determine the right level of service and connection speed for each device. With up to 50 Mbps upload and 50 Mbps download speeds per guest, The Ritz takes pride in being one of the fastest connected hotels in London.

Duty Managers can also easily set different charging rates for each connection package, although since the solution has been in place, WiFi has been provided free to all guests and will continue to be offered on a complimentary basis.PERSONAL SERVICE AND FREE WIFI

More importantly for The Ritz, however, Airangel allows Duty Managers to provide personalised support to guests in their rooms should any problems arise with their connection or login process. This means The Ritz is able to maintain the same high standard of personal service with its Guest WiFi that it does elsewhere in the hotel. Should the Duty Manager not be able to resolve a technical problem they have access to Airangel’s helpdesk support 24/7.

“One thing that stands out with Airangel is the reliability of the whole system. Our guests expect free, fast and reliable WiFi and with Airangel that’s what they get.” explains Glenn.

“AIRANGEL WAS HONEST,
UPFRONT & STRAIGHTFORWARD
ABOUT WHAT THEY WOULD
DELIVER AND HOW MUCH IT
WOULD COST”

Read more about Airangel’s Hospitality WiFi solutions or take a look at The Ritz London